2027: Kabiru Marafa’s camp dumps Tinubu, accuses president of betrayal

A fresh political rift has hit President Bola Tinubu’s Northern base as former Zamfara Central Senator, Kabiru Garba Marafa, and his supporters have resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing the president of betrayal and neglect.

Marafa, who served as Zamfara State Coordinator for the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation during the 2023 presidential election, announced his decision after a two-day meeting of the Senator Kabiru Marafa Consultative Forum in Kaduna on August 27 and 28.

The meeting, attended by delegates from all 14 local government areas of Zamfara, reviewed the state’s worsening security and political situation.

In a communiqué signed by Forum Chairman, Comrade Bashir Muhammad Mafara, and Secretary, Dr. Mannir Bature Tsafe, the group accused Tinubu of adopting a “use-and-dump” approach toward loyal allies.

The Forum recalled that Marafa worked tirelessly to deliver Zamfara votes for Tinubu in 2023, even without the president visiting the state during the campaign. Despite this, it lamented, Zamfara has faced gross neglect under the current administration.

The statement highlighted rising insecurity as a major grievance, noting that Zamfara recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases nationwide in 2024—1,203 out of 4,722 abductions. It added that within a week after a recent bye-election, 25 villages were attacked, 145 residents kidnapped, and 21 people killed.

The group also faulted the alleged use of security forces to secure APC’s victory in the Kaura Namoda bye-election while failing to protect lives in terror-hit communities.

On political representation, the Forum criticised Tinubu for giving Zamfara only a Minister of State position, while other Northwest states got two substantive ministerial slots each. It further alleged that states where Tinubu lost, particularly Lagos, received more appointments and federal projects.

“Unlike other crisis-hit states where the president intervened with visits and financial support, Zamfara has been abandoned. Victims of attacks have received no federal assistance,” the communiqué stated.

It also accused the APC national leadership of sidelining Marafa’s political structure, contrary to the party’s founding principles of fairness and inclusiveness.

After what it described as “exhaustive consultations,” the Forum announced that Marafa’s entire political network across Zamfara’s 147 wards had resigned from the APC in protest against “sustained injustice, mistrust, marginalisation, and deliberate neglect.”

The group said it would soon announce its next political move in line with the collective interest of Zamfara people.